To Be A True Master part 8
by B. Juster II
Summary: The (long) story of a new pokemon trainer, his quest for a legendary evil that he released, and all his adventures along the way


  
  
  
  
  
To Be a True Master - The Journey Of a Lifetime  
(Chapter 8)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Part 15. The Water Stone and Celadon City!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Okay Charcloy," I yelled thirty minutes later over the flapping of Charcloy's wings and rush of air. It was farther to Celadon than it looked. I pointed down. "Bring us down in that big city, Celadon, preferably near the middle!"  
Charcloy nodded, then fell into a steep dive, spiraling down to the ground. "Stop! Stop I wanna get off!" James screamed, closing his eyes and hugging one of Charcloy's spikes.  
I grinned, knowing Charcloy wouldn't let us down, or he would, but not the hard way. Lark gasped behidn me and shut her eyes, holding onto me tighter.  
Dust, sand and small items blasted up into the air as Charcloy swooped down into Celadon, flying down the street like a runway as he prepared to land. I noticed people screaming and running away as Charcloy settled to the ground in front of a huge, twenty story building. As soon as Charcloy was safely on the ground I let out a deep bretah, then climbed into his paw, helping Lark off too. Without even waiting for Jessie and James to get down, I pulled out Eevee's pokeball, cautiously watching Celadon's citizens, who were beginning to form a crowd. This was the downside of having the tallest, most powerful and rarest pokemon in the world. Wherever you went, you had crowds gathering.  
"Eevee, show us the way," I said quietly, kneeling beside Bill's eevee. "Vvee..." Eevee chirped, then stood on his hind legs and turned around, eyes closed. The blue beam from thirty minutes ago formed, then focused on a tall, cocky-looking boy in jeans and a purple shirt.  
"Eevee," Eevee said with a smile, then disappeared into his pokeball of his own accord.  
I walked confidently across the street, and the crowds parted in front of me, leaving the boy standing alone, glaring at me. "Do you by any chance have a water stone in your possession?"  
"What's it to you?" he asked cautiously, uhooking a pokeball from his belt.  
"That water stone, which I'm assuming you found, is mine, I lost it and I need it back," I said calmly.  
"Then I, the great Gary Oak, challenge you to a battle. Winner gets the stone," he said with a confident smirk.  
'Uh oh,' I thought. Oak. Gary. I had heard of Gary, he was a spectacular trainer, and was the grandson of Professor Oak. This could be bad.... "I accept your challenge!" I growled, stepping back and taking Pidgeot's pokeball from my belt.  
The Celadon people quickly backed away to give us an open circle, some beginning to place bets. "Two pokemon battle, no tricks!" Gary said as he hurled a pokeball out. With a flash of red light, an imposing Arcanine appeared, then growled menacingly.  
"Right, Pidgeot I choose you!" I hurled Pidgeot into action.   
"Arcanine, leer!" Gary shouted.  
"Givvim your best Sky Attack pidgeot," I ordered.  
Arcanine stepped back, and his eyes glowed. Pidgeot flapped up into the air, then looked back at Arcanine's powerful gaze. With a surprised shriek Pidgeot fell a few feet, then gained altitude again, slightly shaken by Arcanine's leer. Then Pidgeot himself began to glow, turning red as fire. BAAAAM! Pidgeot shot down from the sky, striking Arcanine and staggering him.  
Pidgeot wasn't done. Back and forth he swooped, slamming into Arcanine at the speed of light, sending the fire dog all over the circle. Finally, after being hit about twenty times, Arcanine roared, startling Pidgeot for a precious second. Without warning, Arcanine's paw slammed down onto the hesitating Pidgeot, pinning him to the ground. The ground began to crack as Arcanine applied more pressure, crushing Pidgeot.  
"DGEEEOT!" Pidgeot tossed his head from side to side in pain, shrieking and crowing.   
"Pidgeot return!" I cried sadly, pulling my hurt bird back to his safe pokeball. With a solemn look, I raised my arm behind my head and motioned for Charcloy to come forward.  
"Holy smokes!" Gary yelped, jumping back. Apparently he had forgotten Charcloy.  
"Okay, Flamethrower Charcloy," I said with a grin. I needn't describe how badly faintned Arcanine was, but the Celadon City street there was forever blackened, and they named the spot after me. They called it 'Soniq's Battle' after that. I'm not sure if it was officially named after me, but it earned that nickname.  
"Dangit, Arcanine return. I can't believe I'm doing this, Gary said with a scowl. "Now, go Charizard, fly up high and use your speed!"  
I watched, fascinated as Gary's excellent specimen of Charizard flew up high. I always love Charizards, even when I'm battling them. I shook my head and returned to the battle with a clear order. "Fly up there and givvim some flamethrowers Charcloy," I barked.  
"Cloy," Charcloy grunted, then leapt into the air. Within a moment, the two dragons were involved in an intense battle, swirling and whipping throug hthe air, swinging with tails and bodies, hurling bursts of fire. It was obvious from the beginning that Gary's Charizrad was faster and more agile than my Charcloy, but Charcloy would inevitable win, as Charizard's attacks barely hurt him, while one flamethrower from Charcloy sent Gary's Charizard reeling.  
Gary's Charizard made one last desperate charge at Charcloy, hurtling in at an impressive speed. "Okay, Charcloy, givvim your spitfire attack, now!"  
Charcloy moved directly in front of his adversary, then leaned his head back, flames licking at his closed mouth. "CHAAAAAR!" Charcloy's head snapped forward, and hundreds of foot-long spears of fire shot forth, creating an unavoidable cloud of fire in front of the opposing Charizard.  
"Char! Char char, chaaaar!" Charizard began howling as he lost speed. The fire-arrows hit him everywhere, wings, face, torso, feet. Charizard began to go into a spiral, like a shot-down fighter. People began screaming and the street rapidly emptied. With a long wail, Charizard hit the street, skidding down the pavement, digging it up after him. With a last sigh ofdefeat, Charizard's head slumped to the side in a dead faint. Embaressed and furious, Gary recalled Charizard, tossed me my evolution stone and ran away.  
I smirked and snatched the stone in mid-air, tucking it into a pocket inside my jacket and zipping it up safely. Charcloy swooped down and ran up behind me triumphantly, making the ground shake. I laughed and rubbed Charcloy's massive head as he bent down. I turned and mock-bowed to the staring Celadon citizens.   
"Thank you, thank you very much for coming out to see the great Pokemon Master Jack Soniq, and I hope you all come to see my next performance in the Celadon gym!" With a cheerful laugh, I recalled Charcloy, then went in search of my friends.  
"Jolteon, thundershock!" I heard James's voice yell from the Celadon Gym's public battling area. I quickly ran inside the open doors, and there were Jessie, James, Lark and Meowth, involved in battles with other trainers (except for Meowth of course, he was sleeping under the bleachers.   
Currently, Jessie and James's Jolteons were battling a Weepinbell and a Growlithe, and as I watched, Jessie's Jolteon fainted the growlithe, thus winning her the battle.  
Lark had Pikachu out, and the little electric mouse was involved in a touch fight with a tough little Vulpix. I sat down and quietly watched the battles for several minutes. Jessie won her next battle, destroying another girl's squirtle, sandshrew, then Tangela with her Jolteon and Arbok.  
James won his first battle, and his next also, but appeared to be losing his third. After a long fight, I looked over to see that Lark was victorious, her competition walking away with his head held low.  
"So, Jack, ya wanna fight?" Lark asked, swaggering over to me with a smug grin.  
"Hey," I said defensively, "I'm the Pokemon Master of this group, you sure you wanna fight me?"  
"Positive," she said with a sparkle in her eye.  
I hopped down from the bleachers and took my place on the other side of the battle zone. "Go, Pidgeot!" I yelled, hurling Pidgeot into action.  
"You're getting predictable, use a different pokemon as starter," Lark teased, before predictably sending out her favorite pokemon, Pikachu.  
"Hey! I like Pidgeot," I fired back "Pidgeot, whirlwind!"  
"Why? he's only a bird, and he's weak against electricity! Pikachu, thundershock!"  
Pidgeot had spent the time me and Lark were arguing to creae a whirlwind, which now barreled into Pikachu, pulling the shrieking mouse into the air. Pikachu tried a thundershock flying through the air, but ended up hitting James on the other side of the room.  
"Pikachu's pretty weak," I said, "he can't defeat my fully evolved Pidgeot!"  
"Oooh, Pikachu, fill the area with electricity, you can't miss that way!" she snapped.  
Pikachu finally hit the ground as Pidgeot let him down hard, skidding him across the floor. Pikachu weakly stood up, glaring, then his electric sacs released their energy, and a maelstrom of electricity surrounded Pidgeot, zapping at my almost helpless bird. Pidgeot used his superior speed, twisting and spinning through the air, and managed to only get hit four times, but he was weakened nonetheless.  
"Pidgeot, finish it with a Quick Attack!"  
"Dgeot!" Pidgeot twisted away from a hastily fired thundershock ,then screamed in at Pikachu, slamming into the tiny electric rodent and sending him spiraling into la-la land.   
"Oh no, Pikachu return, go Oddish!"  
I looked in shock as the tiny grass type appeared. I heard Lark whisper 'oops' and slap herself on the forehead.  
"Oh well, Oddish, absorb!" Lark said half-heartedly. That battle didn't last very long of course. The tiny Oddish was beaten relentlessly by Pidgeot to the point of fainting before Lark recalled him. "Go.... Flareon!" Lark cried, tossing Flareon's pokeball into the center of the match area.  
"Flareon!" Flareon barked as it crouched down to pounce. "Flareon, flamethrower!" Lark yelled quickly.  
"Pidgeot, go gettim with your sky attack!"  
Pidgeot twisted and twirled through the air, smashing into Flareon as the fire-type tried to hit the bird with its powerful flamethrower. After several minutes of this, and shouts of encouragement from their trainers, both pokemon struck the final blow. Pidgeot dove in for the last time, and Flareon expended the last of his fire in a huge blast. Pidgeot was hit by the flames and fainted, but not before making a suicide dive and knocking out Flareon as well.  
With a sigh and a head-shake, Lark and I both recalled out pokemon. Just as we were about to send out our next fighters, a soft voice interrupted our heated battle.  
"You are quite good, boy," said a cool voice from the bleachers.   
I looked up. A girl dressed in casual clothes, mainly a mix of green and black stood up and walked over to me. As she neared, I noticed a Gym Leaders badge on her jacket. She looked to be about 15 or 16 years old, and had six pokeballs clipped to her belt.  
"You're Erika, the Celadon gym leader, aren't you?" I asked, turning away from a fuming Lark.  
She nodded.  
I pulled a random pokeball from my belt and proudly held it high in the air. "Then I, Jack Soniq hereby challenge you to a pokemon battle for the Celadon Rainbowbadge!"  
"As gym leader of the Celadon Gym, I accept your challenge, Soniq, but I warn you, you will not defeat me as easily as her," Erka said, motioning to Lark.  
"Why you little, I oughta-" I quickly pushed Lark out of the way before she could insult Erika.  
I stood across from her on the other side with legs spread apart, glaring defiantly. Erika was annoyingly calm as she dusted off a pokeball, then put it down and released her first pokemon. "This will be a four-pokemon battle, and I choose Ivysaur as my starter," Erika stated.  
'Plant - weak against everything but electric, water and ground,' I thought, 'so....' "Go Butterfree!"  
"Freee!"  
"Ivy, Ivysaur!"   
"Let's start this off with a Psybeam Butterfree!"  
"Ivysaur, Razor Leaf," Erika murmured.  
Ivysaur's bulb opened and a dozen sharp leaves cut through the air at Butterfree, battering him and causing great damage. "FREEEE!" Butterfree was furious, and showed it by releasing a positively stunning psybeam. When the beam cleared, Ivysaur was wavering on its feet.   
"Ivysaur, Leech Seed," Erika said.  
"Saur!"  
I had been sure Ivysaur was beaten, but he suddenly stood up, and glared at Butterfree. His bulb opened yet again, but this time a new package leapt out. A deadly seed. The leech seed wrapped around Butterfree with its quicky growing vines, and glowed, draining Butterfree of its energy.  
I frowned and recalled Butterfree. 'Only a temporary setback.' I thought, releasing Pidgeot.  
"Pidgeot, whirlwind!"  
"Ivysaur, prepare for solarbeam," Erika commanded with a little smile.  
Ivysaur was lifted up into the air, glowing, but he didn't seem to care. Pidgeot sent the whirlwind attack, with Ivysaur in it, straight into the wall. "Ivy.... saur!" Ivysaur grunted as it skillfully bounced off the wall, using its hind legs to propel it into the air, facing Pidgeot before it fell.  
Ivysaur glowed, then an orange beam slammed int Pidgeot, an instant KO. I recalled Pidgeot, growing worried. 'Okay, still got two left, so....' "Go, Vileplume!"  
"Vileplume, Acid!"  
"Ivysaur, vine whip."  
Vileplume turned red as it built up its energy, then spat out a disgusting green blob of acid. Ivysaur reeled, then wiped the burning substance off his skin hurriedly. By then, Vileplume had hurled another blob of acid. It kept coming. Ivysaur was lagging behind in wiping it off, and it soon became apparent that he was fighting a losing battle.  
"Ivysaur, return, go Gloom, use your solarbeam," Erika stated calmly.  
"Vileplume-" My jaw dropped in horror as Erika's Gloom instantly fired out a powerful solarbeam, having charged up for it in about five seconds!  
I stared as the beam continued, lighting up Vileplume, draining his energy and badly weakening him. As soon as the beam faded to nothingness, I recalled Vileplume, before he even hit the floor. "Go, Charcloy!" I yelled proudly, hurling out the.... POKEBALL?  
In utter horror, I watched Vaporeon materialize. I was absolutely stunned. I had thrown out the wrong pokeball! The battle was lost. I didn't want to hurt Vaporeon, none of his attacks would damage that Gloom, which was very powerful to begin with.   
"I forfeit," I murmured, recalling Vaporeon and hanging my head low.   
"You train your pokemon with utmost care," Erika said in an awed voice. "No one has ever knocked out Ivysaur, and you obviously care for your pokemon, or you would have sent Vaporeon to his loss, for that I admire you."  
Outside the gym a few minutes later, I kicked a rock several doze feet furiously. I had screwed up! Right when I had a chance of winning, I had lost. In the words of some Civil War general, I had 'snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.'  
"It's okay," Lark said, holding my hand comfortingly. "Everyone makes a mistake, and you can challenge her again tomorrow!"  
"Yes, and besides, we should go catch some pokemon," James said excitedly. "There are Growlithes and Vulpixes around Celadon City, don't you like fire pokemon?" James asked temptingly.  
I had to admit, the prospect of getting some new fire types was enticing.... And Growlithe and Vulpix evolved into the sleek and beautiful Arcanine and Ninetales....  
"There are also Mankeys, Bellsprouts and Meowths," the talking Meowth in our company said.  
"That's alot of new pokemon to capture, let's go guys," I said, cheering up instantly and rushing off to the side-exit to the east of Celadon.  
It took two hours, and it was nearing sunset by the time I did it, but I made a large haul that day. I caught a Bellsprout, Mankey, and a Meowth, none of whom I could really use, so I let pokedex ship them off to Professor Oak. But no Growlithes or Vulpixes did I see during those two hours. Jessie and James were only interested in the Meowth, and that for teasing purposes, talking openly about how maybe they could replace Meowth with the new one. After they teased Meowth to the point of insanity, he stole the new Meowth's pokeball from the two jokers and released it.  
I sighed and sat down beside Meowth on a boulder just as the sun was setting.  
"You're never gonna catch a Growlithe or Vulpix if ya sit around here all day," Meowth said, hopping off the boulder and parting some bushes.  
"I'm never going to catch one period," I said irritably.  
"Hey, Jaaaack!" Meowth hissed frantically, motioning for me to come over to the bushes. I slowly stood up and walked over.  
"What?"  
"Look! There's a Growlithe and Vulpix!"  
"What?" I asked, quickly looking over. Sure enough, a scrawny little Growlithe and a beautiful Vulpix sat in a small clearing, talking in their own languages.  
"The Vulpix is telling the Growlithe how much more beautiful she is than that 'scrawny growlithe.'"  
I watched as the Growlithe hung its head low and a tear escaped his eye. "I'm gonna catch 'em," I said.  
"You'll never be able ta catch 'em both!" Meowth pointed out.  
"Well, that Growlithe looks weak enough, maybe I can just catch it with a Great Ball, and then battle the Vulpix!"  
Without waiting for Meowth's next excuse, I hurled a Great Ball without warning. Without waiting to see if it caught Growlithe, I threw out another pokeball, releasing Vaporeon.  
"Vaporeon, Water Gun!" I yelled, leaping into the clearing after him.  
Vaporeon opened his mouth and throroughly sprayed the surprised Vulpix with a powerful blast of water. When the attack ended, Vulpix was standing there, wet and loking like a drowned rat, very little damage actually done.  
"Vullll," Vulpix growled menacingly, and blew a wet strand of hair out if its eyes. The Vulpix reared back, then the air around him exploded with raw flames, engulfing Vaporeon completely.  
"Holy cow!" I shouted as the flames nearly hit me. That was one powerful Vulpix!   
Vaporeon groaned and staggered around weakly when Vulpix finally let down the fire blast. "Okay, Vaporeon, bite it!"  
Vaporeon leapt forward and snapped his jaws around the little Vulpix painfully. "Holy Cow," I said, this time more quietly. The Vulpix had fainted. 'This Vulpix must be strong against attacks such as water gun, flamethrower, but weak against physical contact attacks like tackle, bite and quick attack, interesting....'  
"Okay," I said with a smirk, tossing a Great Ball into the air, then catching it and hurling it. "Great Ball, go!"  
Vulpix disappeared upon contact with the trapping device, and was free no more.  
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Part 16.I Add a New Fire Pokemon To My Team!  
  
  
  
  
Of course, there was the small problem of actually getting my two new fire-types from Professor Oak. I was absolutely dying of excitement to get them, so I traded in my Abra and Butterfree for them. Then I went to the Celadon Poke-mart to restock my dwindling supplies. In addition to pokemon and trainer food, I bought potions, full-heals, and two thunder and fire stones.  
I also was generous that night and allowed our team to sleep in a hotel. When we were in our hotel room, the day done, I collapsed on one of the four beds. "This has been one LONG day," I said loudly.  
Jessie and James looked up from a game of Chess and shrugged.   
"At least I caught a Growlithe myself," Lark said with a grin.  
"You didn't catch him," I said with a scowl. "He came to you."  
"Oh, you should try to talk to pokemon and give them a chance to JOIN you of their own free will, instead of forcing them to join you like a typical boy."  
"Hmm," I muttered, then unclipped Growlithe's pokeball from my belt and released the little guy.  
"Hi," I said with a cheerful smile, kneeling beside him. The little guy looked up at me with sad eyes and said nothing.  
"What's wrong?" I persisted, opening Pokedex's translating program.  
"Groooowlll.... Ithe growl growl ithe ithe growlith growliiiiiithe...." He moaned.  
"Loneliness. No one likes me, for I am ugly, and skinny. Vulpix strong, smart, beautiful, everyone want, but not growlithe."  
"Oh...." I said, then brightened up. "Well I want you! You'll be one of the team! You can learn fire attacks from Charcloy, and... Maybe, if you fight more, you'll grow stronger."  
Growlithe looked up sadly and shook his head. "Here," I said, and handed him an opened can of Pokemon food.  
He instantly cheered up, wolfing down the food ravenously. "Well there's your problem, you don't eat very much, do you?" I opened up another can and replaced the quickly empty first.  
"Y' know what I'm gonna do tomorrow?" I asked in a tempting voice.  
Growlithe looked up curiously, his mouth still covered in pokemon food. "Grrrrowl?"  
"I'm going to let you fight in a pokemon battle as my starting pokemon! And if you win at least one fight, I'll evolve you into an Arcanine," I said, rubbing his head.  
"GROWL!" Growlithe howled and tackled me, licking my face and hopping up and down. I wondered if he was happy about getting to evolve....  
I laughed and pushed him off. "You'd better go finish your dinner, then I'll introduce you to your new companions."  
Growlithe nodded and wolfed down the rest of the can, then sat obediently, his tail thumping the floor excitedly.  
I let out Vaporeon, Pidgeot and Vileplume, and they surrounded the excited Growlithe, talking to him suspiciously. Charcloy was too big for the hotel room, and I got the feeling that Growlithe would get depressed with Vulpix around.  
My Veteran fighters appeared to accept Growlithe as part of the clan and the small group talked over their adventures for an hour more, before I recalled them to their pokeballs and went to sleep. Growlithe opted to sleep with me, curling up beside me like an old friend.  
  
The next day dawned dark and cloudy, just the way I liked it. The sky rumbled like my stomach before I had breakfast, then me and my friends, Jessie, James, Lark, Meowth and my new Growlithe hurried to Erika's gym before the rain began.  
Growlithe barked and shook his wet coat off, hitting me as I pulled my raincoat off in the lobby of Erika's gym. "Thanks," I said with a scowl. The little fire-puppy grinned and hopped up and down, eager for battle.  
"So, you wish to challenge me again?" Erika's voice said to me from the open doors of a small side-gym.  
I turned and gave her a lopsided grin. "Yep, and this time I'll win, 'cause I brought help." I patted Growlithe's head protectively, and he rubbed his nose against me.  
"You hope to defeat me with that.... Oh nevermind, I have battles scheduled all day, so if you wish to fight me for the Rainbowbadge, it'll have to be now and quickly."  
"Four pokemon battle, you will obtain the Rainbowbadge upon victory, and if you do, I will award you an additional prize," Erika said calmly as she released her Ivysaur.  
"Right, then I choose Growlithe, go boy!" Growlithe barked enthusiastically and leapt forward, swinging his paws and throwing punches. 'The key to victory here is using overwhelming fire attacks.'  
The Ivysaur frowned, then shout out a single vine, knocking my cocky Growlithe down. "Grrrowl!" Growlithe barked, leaping tot his feet as if nothing had happened.  
"Growlithe, Flamethrower!"  
"Ivysaur, Razor Leaf."  
Ivysaur was faster, better experienced, and sent out his deadly leaves as Growlithe was warming up. "GRRRROWWWL!" Growlithe released a monstrous blast of flames, incinerating the oncoming leaves and roasting Ivysaur.  
Ivysaur groaned, looking very weak and prepared for his next attack.  
"Ivysaur, Sleep Powder."  
"Growlithe, quick, use Take Down!"  
Ivysaur's cheeks turned blue as it prepared to spit out its battle-ending powder. Just then, Growlithe jumped forward, slamming into Ivysaur. Growlithe lifted Ivysaur into the air, then slammed him to the floor with strength that one would not have guessed the little puppy had.  
Ivysaur, confused and at the point of uncosciousness, sprayed out his sleep powder, right on himself! Erika sighed and recalled her peacefully sleeping pokemon. "Go, Victreebell," Erika said, becoming serious.  
'Victreebell.... Powerful but slow, and rather stupid, at least from what I've seen of James's.'  
"Growlithe, Agility!"  
"Victreebell, Vine Whip!" Erika was beginning to get into the battle.  
Growlithe stood still for a moment, then, just as Victreebell began lashing out at him with vines, Growlithe burst forward. I watched proudly as Growlithe shot from side to side around the room, running circles around the vainly whipping Victreebell. Victreebell slowed, then stopped his attack, looking confused as the red blue darted around him.  
"Growlithe, Take Down!" Growlithe came to a sudden brake, paws screeeching on the floor as he turned. Without losing his speed, Growlithe slammed into the Victreebell full-force. Victreebell floated in the air for a moment, and hit the floor, sliding to a stop.  
"Victreebell, up, use your wrap attack!" Erika cried.  
Victreebell struggled up, then feebly snapped out its vines, catching Growlithe, squeezing tiredly. Growlithe sat there as the vines tried to constrict him. The little puppy chuckled and rolled around at the weak attack, the vines only tickling him.  
"Okay, growlithe, ember attack!" I said with a smirk at Erika. Growlithe smiled and walked up to the Victreebell. Poof. Growlithe spat a tiny puff of fire at Victreebell, then pushed the plant over.  
"Victreebell return, go Tangela!" Erika said, looking worried.  
"Growlithe, flamethrower!"  
"Tangela, slam, then constrict!"  
Growlithe hurled out a volley of flames at the charging Tangela, cocentrating the blast for several seconds before the Tangela hit. Tangela slammed into Growlithe, and before either could move, Tangela's vines were wrapped tightly around Growlithe, squeezing painfully.  
"Ohh no!" I yelped. "Growlithe, ember attack now!"  
Growlithe yelped pitifully, then his body glowed red, and I could only imagine what was going on under those dozens of Tangela vines. The tangela began to whine and moan as its vines sizzled and crackled. "Keep up the contriction, Tangela, you almost have him!" Erika shouted.  
Tangela couldn't handle it. The mass of vines with two eyes toppled over, smoking and unconscious. Growlithe staggered back, dazed and weak, breathing hard.  
"Tangela return," Erika said quietly, then looked up and threw her last pokeball, oozing confidence. The familiar Gloom from the previous day appeared, hopping up and down, ready for battle.  
"Time!" I said, then walked outto Growlithe and knelt beside him. The little guy waspanting for breath as he looked up at me and smiled weakly. I rubbed his head reassuringly. "Think you can continue this fight, or do you wanna give it a rest? Either way, you've proved yourself and I'll evolve you after the battle," I told him, petting his warm fur.  
Growlithe barked and rubbed against me, then jumped up and down, pumping his paws in the air with renewed confidence. "Ya wanna keep on going?" I asked him, a little surprised.  
"Grrrrowl!" He said and nodded.  
"Okay, then give it your best shot, and remember, no pressure, just return if you get hurt, don't push yourself too hard." I stepped out of the ring and called time in.  
Taking in a deep breath, I thought over the Gloom. 'This Gloom's powerful, maybe even resistant to its weakness. But it's still slow, so I should use speed attacks, agaility, then take down repeatedly, and NOT GIVE IT TIME TO FIRE SOLARBEAM.'  
"Growlithe, begin agaility!" Growlithe barked and shot forward, leaping over the Gloom back and forth.  
"Gloom, use your Solarbeam!" Erika ordered sternly.  
"Gloom gloom!" Gloom squealed and glowed. "TEERCHIOOOOOSSCUUUUHH!" Gloom fired Solarbeam, but couldn't hit Growlithe. The puppy ran in a straight line across the gym. Gloom tracked Growlithe, relentlessly keeping up the yellow solarbeam. At one point, the beam was only an inch away from Growlithe's back feet, but he chose that moment to attack upon my order."Growllll!" Growlithe roared mightily and slammed into Gloom, putting all of his 40 pounds behind the hit. Gloom staggered, and his Solarbeam faded.   
"Gloom, Stun Spore!"  
"Growlithe, flamethrower!" Growlithe turned in his tracks and fired a highly skilled and accurate spiral of fire, vaporizing most of the orange dust, but still taking some of it. "Now, givvit another Take Down!"   
Growlithe slammed into Gloom again, then picked up the squealing plant and bashed him, headfirst to the floor. Gloom instantly recovered, then spat a glob of acid at Growlithe. I turned cold as I saw Growlithe fall, his energy spent. Gloom advanced slowly on the fallen Growlithe, preparing another solarbeam, glowing like a demon.  
"No!!! Growlithe, return!" As I held out the pokeball, three things happened at once. Growlithe weakly rolled out of the way of my pokeball beam. Gloom fired off his solarbeam. The solarbeam missed, hitting a mirror across the room, then the golden light turned and hit Gloom, lighting up the plant with energy.  
"Oh my- Growlithe, try one more flaemthrower while it's weak!" I yelped. Growlithe staggered to his feet, and blew his last breath of flames before collapsing again. Gloom screamed as it was hit by Growlithe's flamethrower, and its own reflected solarbeam at the same time. When the flames and energy cleared, Gloom wavered, then toppled beside Growlithe.  
  
To be Continued. Please send feedback to brenndon_juster@hotmail.com 


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